Cervelli with Curve: ‘Time to play baseball’

ALTOONA, Pa. -- It's no secret that Francisco Cervelli loves baseball, and for the first time since the Pirates placed him on the concussion disabled list June 22, he was able to do so.

"I feel good because I'm playing and I'm able to be at the baseball field. That's the first step," Cervelli said Thursday night following the first game of his rehab stint with Class AA Altoona, in which he went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts and two walks against the Trenton Thunder, though he didn't catch.

This is the fourth documented concussion in Cervelli's career, but he downplayed any long-term concerns. Even though, as he acknowledged in his first public comment since going on the DL, he made the decision to step away after a series of balls to the facemask contributed to this concussion.